Girl boss

A multitasking millennial, MANASI KIRLOSKAR talks to ANUPAMA CHOPRA about the challenges and perks of inheriting a 150-year-old family legacy

Photographed by KAAMNA PATEL

Twenty-eight-year-old Manasi Kirloskar likes to climb mountains literally and metaphorically. The Bengaluru-based fourth-generation heiress is also a painter, certiﬁed diver, mountain climber, and, of course, director of the Kirloskar Group. A ferocious multitasker, she’s currently busy making her foray into real estate, even as she launches a new rural health- care project and an innovative arts-based teaching programme for underprivileged children. As we meet at Vetro, the Italian ﬁne dining restaurant at The Oberoi, Mumbai, Kirloskar sits down for lunch but eats little, preferring instead to talk about her many ambitions and the necessity of pushing boundaries.

“I may have inherited everything but I know I can lose it all overnight if I’m not competent”

—MANASI KIRLOSKAR

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Kirloskar and Chopra with chef Francesco Francavilla at Vetro

Herb-crusted lamb loin

Anupama Chopra: Manasi, you have inherited a 150-year-old legacy and come into a position of power through a position of privilege. How do you make sure that you earn respect? Manasi Kirloskar:I may have inherited everything but I know I can lose it all overnight if I’m not competent. I remember when I ﬁrst started working at the hospital; people tried to take me for a ride knowing that I did not have a clue—and I knew they were going to continue doing this until I knew my stuff. So I sort of became a self-supervisor, and started learning everything that I needed to. When we were deciding on ﬂooring at the hospital, I went to a vendor and learnt how the granite was laid and polished. I have also trained in the factory on the shop ﬂoor, so I know the difference between a petrol and diesel hybrid, what transmission is used for which car, and how to read a wheel. I don’t stop learning, because only if you know what you’re doing will people respect you.

AC: Are there moments in your life when the pressure of that last name is just too much to handle? MK: The Kirloskar name is known to stand for ethics, value and trust—I have to, and want to uphold that. It takes 150 years to build a name, and a second to ruin it. But honestly, I have no business complaining. I’m aware that people have real life problems, so I can’t sit at home and sulk because “I’m not getting to paint to- day” or “I want to start a school for the arts but I am not able to do it.”

AC:You’re an artist,diver, mountain climber and business- woman. How do these various roles inform each other? MK: I was about 21 when I ﬁrst joined the company and people constantly asked me how a painter would work in healthcare or auto- motive manufacturing. And I always wondered why they remained so narrow-minded. I studied art at the Rhode Island School of Design, and they not only taught me how to paint but also how to think, how to pay attention to detail, and to not be afraid to cross certain boundaries, because that’s what art is all about.

AC: Apparently, your great-grandfather, SL Kirloskar, could tell that you were both a businesswoman and an artist. MK: Mutha baba (that’s what we called him) bought me my ﬁrst bicycle when I was ﬁve or six years old. So I started to ride and asked for 10 after each round. He was so amused that he called my grandmother (his daughter-in-law), and said, “Manasi is already a businesswoman—she has asked me to pay her to have fun.” He was a painter, too, and learnt to ﬂy at age 50. He gifted me a pencil, drawing board and paper, and showed me how to draw. He even left me his easel.

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Kirloskar and Chopra with chef Francesco Francavilla at Vetro

“I don’t stop learning, because only if you know what you’re doing will people respect you”

AC: I read that there have always been women on the Kirloskar board. That’s amazing! MK: Yes, my great-grandmother and grand- mother were on the board of Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. In fact, my grandmother was a very good homemaker, so my grandfather bought her a hotel to run so she could make better use of her skills. It’s now a Taj property—Blue Diamond, Pune.

AC: Do you ﬁnd you’re more sensitive to issues that women employees face? MK: Deﬁnitely. Especially in heavy industries, you don’t ﬁnd too many women on the shop ﬂoor in most manufacturing companies. I see a lot of discrimination in companies afﬁliated with us, be it our vendors or distributors, and I want to consciously change that.

AC: You’re not one to be deﬁ ned by preconceived roles. You celebrated New Year’s by climbing a mountain. What made you do that? MK: I climbed Mt Fansipan in Vietnam; it’s the highest peak in Indochina, at about 3,143 metres. I’ve gone up to 16,000 feet, so it’s not that high in comparison but it was an exceptionally dangerous climb. I sometimes think I live in a bit of a bubble, where I am in control of my environment. But when I’m out there, whether it’s deep-sea diving or mountain climbing, I feel vulnerable and it is important for someone in my position to feel that. For me, this is a great way to start the New Year because it helps me mentally prepare myself for the challenges that lie ahead.

AC: What are the challenges you foresee in the near future? MK: A lot of new projects are in the pipeline—I have started a rural healthcare project that will begin work this year; I’ve also launched my foundation, Caring with Colours: A Manasi Kirloskar Initiative, where we aim to reach out to underprivileged children through art; and I have begun working on real estate. My ﬁrst real estate project is a premium residence in Bengaluru and the second is for commercial ofﬁce spaces. And I also want to climb Mt Everest and get my cave-diving license—all this year. So it’s going to be full of challenges and very action- packed, but I’m excited.